


herald of the tower

by monstermash



Series: memento mori (remember, you will die) [6]
Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, basically the deputy is herald but not at the same time, pretty much an unwilling "herald" au i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14800367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monstermash/pseuds/monstermash
Summary: “God has Chosen you like he has Chosen me; you are the Rook, theTower,Hell incarnate. The beginning of the end. Deputy Garrett Rook, you are the Herald of the Collapse itself.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: sorry y'all, i'm not going to finish this one.

The last thing Garrett remembers is falling into the river with Burke and now he’s in a bunker tied to a bedpost. This honestly wasn’t how he pictured the night going.

“The smartest thing for me to do is to hand you over to them,” the man who has introduced himself as Dutch tells him, looks a little remorseful about it. “I’ve already arranged it. Maybe they’ll leave the valley alone if I hand you over.”

Garrett sighs; he doesn’t blame the guy, especially since the “Reaping,” as Joseph Seed had called it after the helicopter crash, doesn’t sound like a good time for anyone not in the cult. He should’ve just turned around when he had the chance whether or not Burke liked it.

“Trust me, I get it,” Garrett tells him. “I mean, I’m not happy about it, but I don’t blame you.”

Dutch nods and holds up a syringe of something that looks alarmingly questionable.

“For what it’s worth, I really am sorry about this, Deputy.”

\---

He wakes in a comfortable chair, like he’d fallen asleep while reading again, but Garrett quickly realizes that wherever he is, this isn’t his house.

In front of him is a low table with a chessboard all set up and another chair, all within a small but clean room, and above the door looms a portrait of the Seed family and Garrett can feel himself go pale, go as white as the walls that cage him in.

Oh no.

_Oh no._

Garrett needs to leave, he won’t stay here. His legs have trouble cooperating, feeling weak and unstable, can’t seem to quite lever himself out of his chair and he falls back into it, making it skid loudly against the wooden floors. The sound of footsteps drawing closer to the closed door keeps him from trying to get up a second time.

He watches the doorknob turn slowly, his heart hammering away behind his ribs.

The door opens just as slow and in steps Joseph Seed himself, widow’s peak and piss yellow sunglasses; at least he’s wearing a shirt this time.

Joseph smiles at him and there’s something about it that makes Garrett uneasy as he watches the “Father” close the door behind him before taking the seat opposite of Garrett.

“I’m glad to see you awake, Deputy Rook.”

Garrett doesn’t say anything, just eyes the man warily who just continues to smile benignly at him.

The silence goes on for too long, it’s driving Garrett up the wall, being stared at by this delusional man who has barely blinked this entire time.

“Why am I here?”

The smile on Joseph’s face ticks upward a little at the question. Joseph gestures to the chessboard between them.

“Tell me, do you play?”

“Not really,” Garrett sees no harm in answering this seemingly random question. “I could never get the rules to stick in my head.”

That and he never had the patience for it like William did, though he did try; William never could get Mary May or Billy to sit long enough for a game, though then again, Garrett never could last an entire game either.

Joseph hums in acknowledgement, moves one of his white pawn pieces. It seems like he expects Garrett to play as well.

Fuck it, why not? Garrett moves one of his own pawn pieces.

“I can guide you through it,” Joseph says and Garrett suspects that there’s more than one meaning to that. Garrett’s eyes narrow because he knows he doesn’t want any kind of _“guidance”_ from Joseph Seed.

“Rook is an interesting name,” Joseph comments after a few moments of silence. Garrett wonders where he’s going with this. “They’re stronger than bishops and knights. Rooks have had other names as well; marquess, rector, _tower.”_

The man puts a subtle emphasis on that last one, enough for Garrett to know that there’s some significance to it.

“Do you know anything about tarot?” Joseph asks out of nowhere and Garrett doesn’t understand what possible connection there could be between _fortune telling and chess_ of all things.

“For a man of _“God”_ I didn’t think you’d have an interest in something like tarot. Isn’t divination heresy or something?” Garrett asks, moving another piece on the board.

“My wife, she used to do tarot readings when money was tight,” Joseph admits and that actually throws Garrett for a loop; he’s never heard of Joseph Seed having a wife and he wonders where she is.

“She doesn’t anymore?” Garrett asks carefully, watching Joseph’s face for any kind of sign of having stepped over some boundary. Instead, the man just looks sad and nostalgic.

“No, not anymore. She died,” he answers softly and his eyes go distant for a while and silence descends upon them

The play in absolute silence for a few moments before Joseph seems to remember whatever he was trying to tell Garrett in that roundabout way of his.

“There’s a card in tarot called the Tower,” Joseph explains and Garrett thinks he can see the thin connection between the card and the Rook piece now, though it seems to be only in name. Garrett stares in bafflement as Joseph pulls the card out of his shirt pocket and places it on the table next to the chessboard. “It’s often associated with destruction and catastrophe; sudden, unforeseen change.”

With a wary glance at Joseph, Garrett picks up the card and examines it; there’s nothing but a crumbling tower on fire being struck with lightning as people are shown falling from it.

“What does this have to do with anything?” Garrett asks and then wishes he hadn’t as Joseph fixes him with an intense stare, as if he’s looking right into Garrett’s soul.

“Did you know that most religions have a figure that ushers in destruction and death at the end of all things? A herald of the end?” Joseph picks up one of his Rook pieces, holds it up for Garrett to see. “God has Chosen you like he has Chosen me; you are the Rook, the _Tower,_ Hell incarnate. The beginning of the end. Deputy Garrett Rook, you are the Herald of the Collapse itself.”

There’s a manic glint in his eye and the longer he goes on speaking the closer he leans in, as if he has no concept of personal space.

But there’s one thing that really sets the alarms off in Garrett’s head – okay, well, all of… _That_ did too, but that’s not the point; he can just write that off as the ramblings of a madman.

“How do you know my name?”

Sure, his last name is emblazoned on the front of his work shirt, but not his first name.

“God had told me of you,” is all Joseph says.

It’s not very comforting.

“So I’m what? A prisoner now?” Garrett asks; if he’s this supposed _“Herald of the Collapse”_ it only makes sense that he’ll be imprisoned at best and probably killed at worst.

“Of course not,” Joseph tells him in a tone of voice that suggests Garrett’s being ridiculous for even thinking that.

_What the fuck._

“So I’m free to leave?” 

This is weird, Joseph’s weird and that’s putting it nicely.

Joseph gives him an apologetic smile.

“Just as God would not let you take me, God will not let you leave; you’re where you need to be, just like the others. You’re the last Herald, the one we’ve been waiting for.”

 _So a prisoner with a little wiggle room, great,_ Garrett thinks sarcastically.

Burying his face in his hands, Garrett lets out a long, weary sigh. This was supposed to be a simple arrest – well, as simple as arresting a cult leader can be – and now he’s being dragged into this cult bullshit as a _“Herald.”_ He doesn’t want this, just wants to go home, go back to Falls End and have a beer while talking with Mary May like he was supposed to.

Oh god, Mary May. What the hell is he supposed to tell her about this? Can he even tell her about this? Will he even be allowed near a phone or a radio?

She’s going to be so _pissed;_ Mary May hadn’t wanted him to go on this arrest, told him to tell Whitehorse to find someone else. Hell, she’d even told Whitehorse herself to find someone else, but Garrett had told her it would be fine.

Garrett really ought to listen to her more often, she’s the only one left in their incredibly tiny family who has any common sense left.

“You must be tired,” Joseph says, either completely unaware of Garrett’s downward spiral or doesn’t care, and it startles Garrett out of his thoughts. He’d forgotten he wasn’t alone. “Let’s get you to bed.”

The man stands and pulls Garrett to his feet, steadies him as he sways from dizziness, leads him to a bed with sheets as white as the wall and curtains, lowers Garrett onto the bed, helps him remove his boots. Before he turns to leave, Joseph presses his forehead to Garrett’s and breathes in deeply.

“Sleep well. Tomorrow, the faithful will want to meet you.”

That night, Garrett doesn’t get much sleep, just stares at the ceiling in the dark for most of it, tosses and turns for the rest of it.

Looking back on it, Garrett wishes Dutch had cut him loose, that he hadn’t tried to arrest Joseph Seed, that he’d listened to Mary May, but hindsight always makes the choices that should’ve been made obvious.


	2. Chapter 2

Word has spread quickly by the time morning comes around, seems like there are twice as many cultists at Joseph’s compound than there had been the night Garrett and the others came to arrest him.

All the attention from the cultists – the unwarranted and unwelcomed teary-eyed stares of awe and reverence – and the appraising looks from the other Seed siblings gets under Garrett’s skin quick. There are too many eyes on him as Joseph leads him to the church, an oddity on display for all to see; Garrett remains tightlipped throughout Joseph’s sermon, sitting off to the side on the stage, surrounded by the rest of the Seeds.

Garrett doesn’t understand how anyone could buy into this, but as he watches Joseph preach, he understands how the man is able to keep their attention with how he speaks with his entire body, puts himself into every word with a small but effective gesture.

The guy is a good showman, Garrett will admit at least that much.

He tunes most of it out, nothing but nonsense as far as he’s concerned, and spends most of the sermon trying to keep himself from being bored; counts how many Peggies cry, how many times John Seed taps his foot, impatient about something, until Joseph gestures to Garrett and the crowd of cultists that spill out of the large double doors wait with baited breath as Garrett cautiously rises from his seat and moves to stand next to him.

Joseph is practically vibrating with what looks to be barely contained excitement yet still somehow keeping a calm manner and the only word Garrett really catches is “baptism” before the church erupts into loud whoops and hollers.

Maybe he should’ve paid a little bit of attention; you’d think he’d have learned from hindsight by now.

Before he can even try to ask about what’s going on, Faith slips her arm into his and the crowd of Peggies parts so that Garrett and the Seeds can make their way out of the church, out through the inner and outer fences, and down to the water. There’s a specific part of the river’s shore that has been decorated in white.

“You’ll be baptized,” Faith whispers to him, a small conspiratorial smile on her face like she knows he hasn’t been paying attention at all. “Then you will go through confession and become a part of our family.”

 _I already have a family_ Garrett doesn’t say. He wants to, but he also doesn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to Mary May; he figures that Falls End is already dealing with enough unwarranted attention with this whole Reaping business so Garrett keeps his mouth shut.

“I wonder if we’ll get a new family portrait done,” Faith comments idly, making small talk as if any of this normal, and Garrett has to suppress the urge to laugh because he’s afraid that if he starts he won’t be able to stop.

“I’m not changing my name to Seed,” is all he says and Faith giggles.

At least Faith is more tolerable than Jacob’s distrustful scowl or John’s leering or Joseph’s mania that is both loud and quiet at all times.

They watch as a few of the cultists dump some barrels of what Garrett assumes to be Bliss into the river and John wades out into the water, the low murmuring of the crowd almost a deafening white noise to Garrett. When it’s all ready, Faith releases his arm, nudges him forward, towards the river and John who looks way too into this.

Every step he takes, Garrett tries to think of a way to avoid this, but the closer he gets the more Garrett’s sure he isn’t getting out of this or the confession afterwards. 

At the edge of the water, Joseph appears by his side, takes hold of his hand with an odd tenderness, and leads him out to John and all Garrett can focus on is how uncomfortable he’s going to be with wet clothes in the very near future.

John starts talking and Garrett figures he’s gone this long without listening that there’s no point in starting now, just holds his breath when John and Joseph start to lean him backwards into the Bliss contaminated waters, fists a hand in Joseph’s shirt when he’s pulled back up and unsteady thanks to the Bliss. He doesn’t protest when Joseph’s hands cup his face with that same odd tenderness and presses their foreheads together; Garrett figures it was too much to hope for Joseph to learn personal space within a span of a few hours.

Allowing himself to be led back to the shore, he blocks out the cheers from the cultists; he’s well aware it isn’t specifically for him as it is for the idea of them finally getting their long awaited final Herald, to begin their Reaping in earnest.

Faith joins him again, a genuine smile on her face and it puts Garrett at ease a little bit, though that might be the Bliss talking; he isn’t completely sure in all honesty.

As the crowd disperses, Garrett is led back to the house he had stayed the night in – he assumes it’s Joseph’s – and he was right about being uncomfortable in his soaked through clothes that cling obnoxiously to his skin.

\---

Confession is apparently a private matter. Well, as private as it can get with the entire Seed family present for it. Garrett’s just glad he was allowed to wash the river water and Bliss off before being taken back to the now empty church.

The Bliss must’ve been still in his system, because Garrett doesn’t remember too much of it after sitting down though he’s pretty sure it involved John cutting into him because when he wakes up on a too soft mattress hours later, there’s bandaging in the middle of his chest, just under his collarbone and on his back on his right shoulder.

Looking the mirror in the adjoining bathroom reveals the _‘Pride’_ carved on his shoulder and the _‘Wrath’_ on his chest.

It hits Garrett then – really hits him – that all of this is real and not some bad dream. The suppressed laughter from earlier comes back with a vengeance and he can’t stop it, just laughs and laughs until he’s crying and curls in on himself on the tiled floor.

He’d been kind of banking on all of this being a bad dream that he could wake up from and not a waking nightmare.

\---

Long after the sun has set Garrett finally gets up from the cold tile of the bathroom floor.

He debates briefly on whether or not he should crawl back into bed and try to sleep some more, but decides against it; he’s been asleep for most of the past 48 hours, there’s no way he’ll be able to sleep anymore right now.

So instead he takes to exploring the house, careful of noisy floorboards by keeping close to the wall and doesn’t bother to turn any lights on; he doesn’t know what time it is other than “very late” and he’d really rather not have anyone come and investigate why lights are being constantly turned on and off.

The second floor doesn’t have much other than four other bedrooms – each one belonging to one of the Seeds Garrett assumes – so Garrett descends the stairs, leaves the plethora of bedrooms behind.

The first floor is just as dark as the second; well, it is until he reaches a half open door with soft light pouring out of it.

Curious, Garrett slowly pushes the door the rest of the way open and there sits Joseph, reading what looks like a bible though the cover doesn’t look quite right, something _off_ about it but Garrett can’t put his finger on it.

Joseph looks up at him and Garrett’s surprised by the lack of sunglasses. Up until now, he’d been sure they were glued to the guy’s face or something. Garrett thought the sunglasses were ridiculous, but now he kind of wishes Joseph was wearing them right now if only to lessen the intensity of his gaze.

It becomes too much and Garrett has to look away, glance off to the side.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Garrett says when he can still feel Joseph’s gaze practically burn the side of his face.

The man simply smiles at him and gestures to the open seat next to him. Garrett hesitates but ultimately gives in and sits as far away as he possibly can on the couch, lets himself sink back into the cushions with his legs drawn in close, taking up as little space as possible.

Garrett pointedly ignores the now indulgent looking smile.

“I too find difficulty sleeping from time to time,” Joseph admits in that soft-spoken way of his as he goes back to reading. Garrett doesn’t really know what to do with that information other than to file it away in his mind; who knows, it might be useful later on. 

They sit in strangely companionable silence for most of the night before Garrett dozes off on the couch.

\---

What does a Herald do with their time?

No, seriously, Garrett wants to know because he has no fucking clue. He’s been here at Joseph’s compound for the past few days and all he’s really done is sit through Joseph’s sermons and pretend he’s paying attention, or helping with the crops under Joseph's attentive eye when the boredom becomes too much for want of something to do. He stays away from the Bliss though, doesn’t want anything to do with those awful flowers.

The boredom is killing him and it gets Garrett thinking about _“God’s”_ definition of leaving.

(He doesn’t believe for a second that god will do a damn thing if he leaves. Joseph on the other hand is a completely different story.)

Like, would it really count as leaving if he comes back?

Deciding to put the theory to the test, Garrett sneaks out of the compound one night by way of burlap sacks – which are usually reserved for the compound’s small farm – to climb over the barbed wire fences. One good thing he’s found out so far about being a Herald (and he uses the term loosely, because he’s pretty sure he’s only a Herald in name compared to the others) is that the Peggies on night patrol don’t question why he’s wandering around at night with his arms full of burlap.

Once he’s cleared the outer fence and there’s no sign of any helicopters falling from the sky Garrett takes off into the woods.

\---

Out in the woods Garrett finds the charred remains of a ransacked camp and the house he had found Burke in. It’s hard to believe that it’s been less than a week since they came here to arrest Joseph Seed and now Garrett has been unwillingly taken into the cult. Feels more like it’s been years rather than days.

The house turns out to have a lot of stuff he missed, but probably wouldn’t have needed, the first time around; some clothes that will probably fit, a backpack, and a recurve bow and some arrows stashed underneath a bed.

It feels good to be in clean clothes and Garrett stashes some into the backpack, including the ones he’d been wearing for the past few days. At least now he won’t have to resort to wearing cult paraphernalia for lack of other options. 

With his new possessions, Garrett decides to test how much farther he can go, to find out what boundaries he’s allowed.

\---

Garrett gets as far as the Hollyhock Saloon (the phone line is dead when he checks) when the sky starts to lighten and decides he should probably turn around; he doubts he’ll make it back before the sun has completely risen, before the morning sermon.

On his way back he notices an increase of Peggie patrol trucks the higher the sun climbs in the sky, but he doesn’t think much of it, just keeps off the roads.

He gets back into the compound the same he got in and the first cultist to lay their eyes on him starts hollering for Joseph who wraps him up in an uncomfortably tight hug as he chides Garrett, who doesn’t catch a lot of it because he’s distracted yet again by Joseph’s complete lack of social norms and disregard for personal space, though he hears the man refer to him as “my child” and Garrett’s nose scrunches in distaste as he awkwardly pats Joseph’s back.

“Please don’t call me that.”

Joseph pulls back enough to give him a mildly exasperated look.

“I thought you understood that leaving was not a wise choice.”

Garrett shrugs, or tries to anyway with Joseph’s hands gripping his arms. “You were pretty vague on the specifics. And I came back, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Joseph reluctantly admits though there’s a bit of fondness in his tone and that’s kind of weird, but then again Joseph Seed is kind of a weird guy; overly affectionate, doesn’t believe in personal space, runs a cult. Honestly, his sudden fondness is probably the least weird thing about this whole situation. Joseph leans in again, presses their foreheads together and _why does he keep doing that?_ “At least let me know when your restlessness gets the better of you.”

“Sure,” Garrett agrees. He’s honestly surprised he got off the hook that easily but knows better than to push his luck.


	3. Chapter 3

“You seem to be adjusting well,” Joseph comments as he joins Garrett in picking apples from the compound’s tiny orchard. 

Garrett spares him a glance before reaching for another apple; if it weren’t for the cultists giving off those eerie, too happy _‘Stepford Wives’_ vibes, Garrett could almost pretend that he was just helping out on one of the neighboring farms with a weird, religion obsessed acquaintance. 

Almost.

“As well as anyone in my situation would, I guess.”

There’s a soft smile on Joseph’s face as he looks at Garrett, the sunlight causing a bright glare off of those obnoxious sunglasses that Garrett finds himself loathing more and more; they’re why Garrett has such a hard time getting a read on Joseph. Sure, the guy can school his face to suit his needs and whatever situation he finds himself in, but it’s harder to hide the emotion in his eye, the only truthfully genuine thing about him. The sunglasses though, they’re like a damn shield, covering up anything that might give the man away.

“Not like anyone, no. You adapt and persevere, taking any obstacle life throws at you in stride.” 

Is that—Is that admiration in his voice? That stops Garrett short and he actually looks at Joseph and is met with another one of those soul-piercing stares.

The sunglasses might shield Joseph’s emotions from being seen, but they sure don’t shield Garrett from him.

\---

Most nights he finds himself drawn to the small library down on the first floor even if Joseph isn’t there; he’s only left the compound once after his experiment with boundaries, not wanting to push too far too soon.

His situation right now is like being out in the middle of an iced over lake, except the rotten ice looks the same as the safe ice. One wrong step and he’ll fall into frozen waters.

So, most nights he wanders down to the library, lounges on the well-worn couch and reads one of the few non-religious books kept there when Joseph isn’t already there. When he is they mostly sit in semi-comfortable silence, or Joseph reads aloud from whatever book he’s reading and Garrett tends to sleep the whole night through when he does.

Tonight is not one of those nights, however.

No, tonight he managed to fall asleep at a reasonable hour, but his dreams are taking a turn for the worse like they usually do.

Half awake and disoriented, Garrett almost doesn’t notice the soft shushing and the calm fingers brushing back his hair until he’s looking into blue eyes unmarred by yellow glass.

“You were thrashing so violently I was afraid you’d hurt yourself.” Joseph cups Garrett’s face, brings their foreheads together for a moment, then leans away slightly, still keeping way too close. “Does this happen often?”

Garrett’s too tired to be suspicious of him or to even complain about the close proximity. 

“Often enough,” he admits, laying back against the too soft mattress, practically sinking into it, watches as Joseph shifts so that he’s sitting against the headboard.

“Jacob also suffers from troubled dreams, though for different reasons.” Joseph goes back to running his fingers through Garrett’s hair, the rhythmic ministrations making his eyelids flutter shut. “Most of his nightmares come from his time in the service, a few from the mistreatment he received from our father.”

Garrett’s final thought before he drops back into sleep as Joseph keeps talking is that Joseph isn’t so bad when he’s not ranting and raving about his delusions and the Collapse.

When he wakes just as the sun is starting to peak out from behind the mountains, Garrett finds his face pressed against Joseph’s thigh, the other man’s hand still in his hair. He carefully removes himself from the bed as Joseph continues to quietly snore away.

\---

The restless urge comes again and Garrett can’t push it away. Just grabs his backpack and recurve, remembers at the last minute to leave a note since Joseph is meeting with some of his followers, no doubt making plans for the Reaping if they haven’t already, and hops the fences.

No one tries to stop him from going, but they look from him to Joseph’s house and back again.

\---

Garrett heads for Falls End.

Or, well, he tries to.

He gets past the roadblock easy enough – apparently most, if not all of the Peggies know what he looks like – just waltzes right on through, cuts through the orchard, and heads for the woods; figure it’ll be easier to stay off the roads.

When he’s close to Rae Rae’s pumpkin farm though, he hears gunfire and heads towards it without a second thought, picks up the pace when he hears a dog frantically barking. There’s three cultists by a truck with a dog loaded into a cage, the scent of fresh blood thick in the air.

The Peggies perk up at the sight of him, one of their Heralds.

“The fuck happened here?” Garrett bites out as soon as he sees Rae Rae and her family laid out in the dirt, lifeless and limp.

“John’s orders.”

Two words have never turned Garrett’s stomach so violently before now. With a scowl, Garrett picks up one of the shovels scattered across the ground and breaks the lock on the cage and coaxes the dog – Boomer on the collar – out into his arms. The Peggies look at him as if he’s grown a second head; they try to tell him that he can’t take the dog, that John won’t be happy about it if he does.

“Yeah? Well if John has a problem he can come talk to me about it or he can choke on it.”

Glancing at the dead family, Garrett can feel his heart twist painfully. Rae Rae and her family deserved better than this, deserved more than having their bodies left out to rot.

So, with a heavy heart Garrett goes off to the side of the house and starts digging a grave for them, the dog and the cultists following him

“What are you doing?”

“What’s it look like? I’m burying them.”

“But they were sinners,” one says, as if that excuses anything.

Garrett would disagree, but he doesn’t think it’d do much good or that it’d convince them of anything. “Even sinners deserve a burial. They were your neighbors once, weren’t they? Burying them is the least you can do or are you too above that?”

His words seem to strike a chord in one of them, since the shortest one decides to grab a shovel and help him dig, the other two joining in eventually.

Garrett wonders if his words worked because of his status as a Herald or because they still have a conscience within them somewhere.

Either way, the digging goes faster than it would have if it had just been him. Once he deems it deep enough, he hauls himself out, holds a hand out to help the Peggies up, and heads into the house, looking for sheets to wrap the family in; the short, blond Peggie continues to follow him, which Garrett finds weird, the guy can’t be older than maybe 20 but here he is following him like a lost baby duckling.

Between the two of them, they find plenty of sheets as well as a half empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter which Garrett snatches up; he doesn’t smoke that often, but he figures if there was ever a reason to have a smoke, this sure as hell is it.

“Alcohol and cigarettes are prohibited,” the bearded Peggie outside tells him when he catches sight of the lit cigarette hanging from his lips and Garrett just shrugs.

 _Fuck it,_ he decides.

“I’m the Tower,” is all Garrett says in response as he and the short one start lowering in the wrapped up bodies. It doesn’t make any fucking sense, but if he can use his status as a “Herald” to get away with shit then you better believe he was going to do just that.

Hell, he already stole a wrongfully acquired dog off of John, why stop now? Garrett never signed up to the cult willingly; the only rule he has to follow is returning to Joseph’s compound eventually.

\---

Joseph looks vaguely amused when Garrett shows up with Boomer in tow, welcomes him back with too much touching that Garrett is getting way too used to if the way he leans into it is any indication.

John, however, looks really fucking pissed off like he’s about to burst a vein with how pinched his face is looking right now.

But then Joseph whispers something to John and the man’s face just shutters off any emotion except for quiet submission. Garrett would feel bad, but the guy apparently ordered the death of Rae Rae’s family, so getting what Garrett’s assuming to be a verbal slap on the wrist is the bare minimum of what John deserves.

\---

Out of the other Seeds, Faith visits the most often.

During one of her visits, she finds Garrett out on the lake’s shore, within view of Joseph’s house, fishing while Boomer splashes in the shallows. There’s an impish grin on her face as she sits down next to him.

“For a harbinger of the Collapse you do the most peaceful of things,” Faith comments, dipping her toes into the cold lake water and Garrett can smell the cloying scent of Bliss rolling off of her.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t really approve of chaos and murder.”

“Neither do we.”

Garrett raises a brow at that, but doesn’t take his eyes off the lake. “Could’ve fooled me, what with all this Reaping business.”

Faith just smiles and hums a tune, as if she hadn’t heard Garrett say a word. Garrett doesn’t try to push the point, just keeps fishing. Well, trying to fish; they don’t seem to be biting much today.

They sit there in comfortable quiet, Boomer curling up between them once the dog has tired himself out, as Faith continues humming what Garrett now recognizes as _‘Amazing Grace.’_

“It’s not just peacefulness,” Faith says softly, abrupt with this sudden topic. “But you’re compassionate. I heard about what happened at the pumpkin farm.”

“I’m pretty sure everyone heard with how pissed off John was.” Garrett starts reeling in the line when something catches on it. “I was only doing the decent thing. Anyone would’ve done the same.”

Well, anyone but that group of Peggies who only helped him because he’s a Herald.

There’s a melancholic look on her face, dark blue eyes staring out at the horizon. “I don’t know about that.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that, so he doesn’t say anything, just takes the salmon he caught off the hook. Faith twists around to look behind them and nudges Garrett gently with her elbow. Turning his head to look at whatever it is she sees reveals Joseph out on the porch with a few of his most loyal followers.

“It looks like something has taken root,” Faith says and it takes Garrett a moment to catch the joke.

“That was bad,” he groans, but it still gets him smiling.

“Well would you look at that, you do smile. Dimples and everything,” Faith says as she pokes at one of said dimples. Garrett just softly swats at her hand and goes back to fishing, ignoring the burning gaze on his back.

\---

Garrett knows he fucked up somewhere along the way; he’s gotten too used to either passing out on the couch while Joseph reads or falling back to sleep with Joseph in his bed whenever the nightmares get to be too much, so now when Garrett wakes from his nightmares quietly or if Joseph isn’t in the library at night he can’t sleep.

He shouldn’t have let Joseph stay the first time because now he needs the presence of someone else nearby to stave off the dreams and what’s worse it doesn’t seem like his restless mind will accept any substitute; Garrett’s already tried having Boomer curl up next to him and it didn’t work.

And it’s not like Garrett can just run off into the woods to tire himself out because he’s already tired. He just can’t get his mind to quiet itself long enough to rest properly; in the last four days he’s gotten maybe a handful of hours of sleep.

Which is why he finds himself standing outside Joseph’s room debating on whether or not he should admit to this weakness he foolishly allowed himself to develop.

He looks down at Boomer as if the dog could provide any kind of advice or opinion on the situation, but Boomer just looks up at him. When the slightly nauseous feeling in his stomach comes back Garrett finally makes up his mind; he needs sleep more than he cares about his pride.

Doesn’t care if it’s Stockholm syndrome or what at this point, he just wants to not be awake right now.

Knocking on the door yields a _“Come in”_ and Garrett doesn’t think he’s ever seen the inside of Joseph’s room before now; the same white walls that are continuous throughout the entire house, but the room is even more bare than Garrett’s. There’s only a chest of drawers, a bed, and a desk that Joseph is sitting at within the room.

Joseph looks up from his writing, seemingly surprised yet pleased to see him, and beckons Garrett closer.

“What brings you here tonight?”

Garrett barely manages to not roll his eyes; Joseph obviously knows why, but he seems to want Garrett to admit it aloud.

“Haven’t slept too well the past few days,” he admits, watching blue eyes behind yellow glass watch him. “Was wondering if you’d mind if I crashed in here tonight.”

There’s a flash of something in Joseph’s expression but it’s gone before Garrett can decipher it. Joseph rises from his desk, places a hand at the small of Garrett’s back and guides him over to the bed, uncharacteristically quiet the whole time.

“I will join you shortly,” Joseph says once Garrett is under the covers.

He doesn’t say anything in response, just closes his eyes and curls up as much as he can, hears Joseph move about the room and Boomer’s nails clicking against the floor as the dog wanders off somewhere else. Then the lights go out and the bed dips as Joseph settles in behind him, close but there’s still air between them. The warmth that radiates from Joseph starts to pull Garrett under into the welcoming embrace of sleep.

There's a soft sound before he falls asleep completely, thinks he hears Joseph whispering, something that sounds like _“God made us for each other,”_ but then Garrett falls into dreamless sleep and doesn’t remember it when he wakes in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i'm gonna go to sleep im exhausted, but i hope you guys enjoy the new chapter. things should start picking up next chapter since it's mostly been build up so far


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i lied this chapter is also more build up and there isn't a lot of joseph in this chapter. next chapter should have more stuff happening in it (at least i hope it does) but this one is more faith & garrett weird friendship centric than anything else

As much as he hates to admit it, Garrett’s gotten used to living with Joseph.

Gotten used to Joseph’s presence.

It honestly hasn’t been all that long, a little under three weeks since the night they came to arrest Joseph Seed. Since the helicopter crashed and Garrett was handed over like a bargaining chip. He still hasn’t been able to get a hold of Mary May to at least let her know he didn’t die.

Garrett doubts that Joseph would be willing to let him return to Falls End indefinitely. Not without some kind of consequence because of _‘God.’_

Garrett’s also pretty sure he wouldn’t last being away too long anyway; he’s let himself get too dependent on Joseph to get a decent night’s rest. Whether that was Joseph’s intention all along, or if he just genuinely wanted to help him through his nightmares, or maybe a little bit of both, Garrett honestly couldn’t tell.

Mary May always said that Garrett’s insomnia and reluctance to deal with his nightmares would be his downfall, and lo and behold, she was right yet again. He really ought to listen to her more often.

But that’s not the only thing he’s gotten used to; it’s all the casual touches, the casual affection, and Garrett isn’t sure how to take it. From what he’s observed, it seems to be common enough behavior for the guy when he interacts with anyone in general, just gets right up into someone’s personal space and will place a hand on their shoulder or briefly rest their foreheads together. But then, with Garrett, Joseph will let the touch linger for a few seconds too long or stare a little too intensely and that…

That makes Garrett feel conflicted.

Because on one hand he enjoys the casual touch and affection, though he could do without the constant lack of personal space, but on the other, the guy has done some very questionable things, encouraged his followers to do questionable things. Hell, the fact that Joseph Seed runs a _cult_ is reason enough to turn tail and run.

He remembers the shaky footage posted to the internet of Joseph gouging a man’s eyes out like it was nothing, remembers the dead eyed stare he had the entire time like it was all just business as usual.

It’s a sobering reminder, but it doesn’t change the situation, not really.

Garrett’s still a _‘Herald,’_ unwillingly, and he’s let himself get too used to Joseph Seed of all people.

“I really fucked up,” Garrett murmurs as he sits on the lake shore with Boomer sprawled across his lap, looking out across the water towards Holland Valley.

\---

Faith still comes by a lot, but always at different times, a completely unpredictable pattern.

So he honestly shouldn’t have been all that surprised that she would eventually find out about the sleeping arrangements.

Garrett woke up when the light of dawn was shining annoyingly in his face. He lays there for a while, letting his eyes adjust, with Joseph still sleeping, spooned up behind him with an arm thrown over Garrett’s waist, his face pressed against the nape of Garrett’s neck; he figures he must have Stockholm syndrome pretty bad if he’s not even bothered by that.

Eventually Garrett decides to get up, carefully easing out of Joseph’s grasp and leaves the room, heading down the stairs to the kitchen. Where he finds Faith sitting at the table, Boomer resting his head on her lap, with a mug of strong smelling tea and greets him with a knowing smile. He raises an eyebrow at her, but doesn’t say anything as he goes over to the cheap coffee maker he had found in that abandoned house just outside of the compound and brought back with him.

“You want breakfast?” Garrett asks, getting a pan out.

“Please.”

There’s some food in the fridge, not a lot, but some. They usually tend to eat with Joseph’s followers in the compound common area, but Garrett doesn’t really feel like dealing with the Stepford Cultists this morning. Normally Garrett doesn’t cook all that much either unless he’s also making food for someone else. It’s nice, reminds him of Saturday mornings when Mary May would crash at his place.

“You look well rested,” Faith comments from the table and Garrett can hear the teasing lilt in her voice. Garrett grunts, still kind of half-asleep until he can finally get some coffee, turns over the potato wedges in the pan. Doesn’t even realize Faith has gotten up from her seat until she’s pressing a mug of coffee into his hands which he accepts gratefully.

“Been sleeping better,” Garrett says before taking a drink. 

“I bet, especially with how cozy you two looked curled up together,” Faith says with a sly grin making Garrett choke on his coffee. She laughs, bordering on cackling, as he tries getting his breathing under control.

“You’re a menace,” Garrett grumbles without any real heat behind it. “I oughta keep all the fried potatoes for myself just for that.”

He says it, but he still doles out three shares of it before making the rest of their breakfast, listens as Faith talks about how well Bliss production has been going, how well the new (willing) converts are adjusting. Garrett notices that she doesn’t speak of the unwilling converts and rarely mentions the Reaping, other than that it basically means the cult is going into the final stages of preparation before sealing themselves inside bunkers.

“So you guys really believe in that ‘end of the world’ stuff, huh?”

“Of course,” Faith tells him patiently. Out of all the Seeds, Garrett figures she’s the best one to ask questions about the cult in order to really figure out what the hell is going on; Jacob doesn’t seem like the talkative type (at least not to Garrett), John seems like he’s way too devoted to the cult and would probably take these questions in a negative way, and Joseph… well, Joseph is a whole other can of worms compared to his brothers. He’d probably mistake Garrett’s questions as genuine belief and interest in the cult’s teachings and would probably go off on a preaching tangent. “Joseph has foreseen the Collapse in visions granted to him by God. When it’s time, we’ll go to the bunkers and stay there for seven years.”

Garrett frowns down at the table, pokes at his food with his fork as he turns Faith’s words over in his head. Seven years in bunkers. From what Garrett understands about radiation, it is possible that the fallout could clear up within a decade, _maybe,_ but then there’s the problem of nuclear winter and an incredibly damaged ozone, not to mention it would be impossible to grow food for at least five years; and that’s just _barely_ touching the surface of all the problems that would occur. All in all, a nuclear war would be the worst fucking thing to happen and Garrett can’t understand why the cult is so damn eager for it to happen, can’t wrap his head around it. Of course, it’s unlikely to happen anyway; even with today’s political climate as it is, a nuclear war like Joseph has _‘prophesied’_ isn’t exactly going to happen, not any time soon even if the current President is a fucking buffoon.

Besides, it’s not like the cult can launch missiles like that anyway, so their plan, their goal, is doomed to fail. But until then they all still pose a very real threat to Hope County and Garrett has to figure out a way to reduce the amount of harm they cause. Basically, Garrett’s on damage control for the foreseeable future for both the Peggies and everyone else, because as frustrating as the Peggies can be they don’t deserve to be hurt either. Most of them were just lost and vulnerable people who got swindled into this, lured in by compelling words and intense conviction.

“How many bunkers are there anyway?” Garrett asks, feeding Boomer a potato wedge and smiles at how the dog’s entire being wiggles at the thought of food.

“One for each of us, so four in total.” Faith tilts her head in thought, eyes looking up at the ceiling. “It’s a little too late to start another bunker for you, so you’ll probably stay with Joseph.”

A knot forming in between his eyebrows, Garrett hides a grimace at the thought of being trapped in a bunker for seven years. It doesn’t sound appealing at all. He’d probably lose his mind before a year even passed.

Faith must notice it anyway because she slides the third plate towards him with a smile. “You should go wake him up before this gets cold. He’s sleeping in much longer than he usually does. Wouldn’t want him to be late for the morning sermon, now would we?”

Garrett rolls his eyes, but gets up anyway.

“You’re not very subtle you know,” he tells her, because this is a little too obvious that she’s trying to take his mind off of the worrying thought of seven years in a bunker.

“I’m not trying to be,” Faith responds with a Cheshire-like grin. He looks at Boomer, but the traitor has gone over to Faith to beg for scraps.

The door is still as he left it, half open as Garrett slips into the room and comes to a stop by the bed and kneels. Joseph is still sleeping, though he’s moved, partly stretched across the mattress as if unconsciously looking for him, and Garrett is unsure of how to wake him up. He’s pretty sure that a slap, while effective, would be a bad idea but anything else would feel too… intimate? _You fucking share a bed with the guy and touching his arm is too ‘intimate,’_ Garrett internally scoffs at himself. 

Reaching out, Garrett carefully shakes Joseph’s arm and ignores the pleasant warmth radiating off of him. He can’t seem to ignore the way Joseph smiles at him when he wakes up, like he’s genuinely happy to see him, can’t ignore how he rests a hand on Garrett’s cheek, lets the contact linger for just a few seconds too long before getting up and going about his morning routine and Garrett can feel his heart honest to god flutter in his chest.

And his only thought is _‘oh no’_ on repeat because he knows this is only going to lead to trouble at some point and if he hadn’t been sure before, now he _definitely_ knows he fucked up somewhere. Because there’s a sudden want to maybe climb back into bed with _Joseph Seed_ and just stay there for at least a few more hours.

Garrett gets the feeling that maybe he misunderstood what Faith’s intentions were when she suggested he come wake Joseph up, that he misunderstood what that grin of hers meant.

\---

After the morning sermon Garrett makes a beeline for the fence, only making a detour to the house to grab his bow and bag, Boomer following him the entire time. He ignores Faith’s teasing and Joseph’s perplexed expression, just hops the fence with Boomer and keeps going.

Doesn’t even realize just how far away he’s gone until he reaches the taxidermy shop run by Miss Mable who’s cursing up a storm. Which is how Garrett got dragged into this situation, tracking down Peaches before she can maul anymore Peggies foolish enough to go after a god damn _mountain lion._ There’s even a note on one of the dead Peggies in Miss Mable’s yard. Apparently it’s open season on cougars because enough of the cultists didn’t seem to grasp the concept of what a wild animal is and that they’re dangerous. It’s moments like this that Garrett’s glad he never became a park ranger. Then again, if he had he wouldn’t be in this mess.

Folding up the note and tucking it away in a pocket, Garrett follows the obvious trail of blood while keeping an eye on Boomer to make sure the dog doesn’t run off by himself.

It doesn’t take long to get to the campsite, the angry shouting from the Peggies making it easy to find. At least they still have some common sense left because what remains of their hunting party is keeping close to each other, making sure they don’t leave their backs exposed to any pouncing mountain lions lying in wait.

With a very put upon sigh, Garrett enters the clearing slowly and loudly, making sure not to spook the Peggies that have guns; the last thing he needs is getting shot by someone who got way in over their head.

“Hey guys, you might want to clear out of here. There’s a mountain lion on the loose.”

“Kind of why we’re out here, Herald,” one of them replies. “We can’t allow any cougars to roam free.”

It’s a struggle to keep from rolling his eyes at them.

There’d be a lot less dead Peggies if they’d stop fucking with the wildlife, but that’s apparently too much to ask for.

“Look, she’s clearly agitated because you guys threatened her. Did she actually attack anyone _before_ you guys went at her guns blazing?”

One of them at least looks a little ashamed as they tell him, “No, sir.”

“Are any of you actually trained to deal with the local wildlife?” Hell, honestly, Garrett isn’t exactly trained either, but he figures he probably has a better idea of what to do and expect since judging by the way this group looks, they’ve never actually lived out in the country before this. Good lord, the way they’re all holding their guns improperly is enough to make Garrett actually exasperated. It’s like he’s a babysitter and these guys are a bunch of kids running around with knives and he doesn’t get paid enough for this.

Is he even getting paid anymore? With the county effectively cut off from the rest of the state he doubts it.

“… No, sir.”

“Then you should probably leave before you end up with even more casualties.” One of them looks like they’re about to argue, but Garrett holds up his hand, effectively telling them to be quiet, and musters up as much authority in his tone as he can. “This isn’t up for discussion. I will deal with this; if you’re worried about this reflecting badly on you, don’t be. I’ll let Faith know you did your best, but this really should’ve been left to someone else.”

“If we leave without killing it then we’ve failed.”

“Failure is a part of life and it happens to everyone. It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Garrett tells them as he pulls out the bag of Peaches’ treats from his rucksack. “You guys really shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”

There’s the sound of Peaches moving through the underbrush, watching them and the Peggies really need to leave now.

“There’s nothing shameful about admitting your limits. Now _go.”_

The group hesitates until one by one they make their way out of the ruined campsite while Garrett shakes the bag of treats, keeping Peaches’ attention fixed on him.

“Oh and one more thing, leave Miss Mable alone,” he calls after them.

\---

Getting Peaches back to Miss Mable was as easy as he had expected, the mountain lion following the trail of treats like Miss Mable said she would.

What he wasn’t expecting was Miss Mable giving him Peaches.

“Aw hell, why don’t you just keep the damn cat. I’ve enjoyed not having to deal with her incessant needs,” Miss Mable says, as if they’re talking about a house cat.

“Are you sure?” Garrett asks because what the hell is he supposed to do with a _mountain lion?_

“I sure am. Now get off my property and take her with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garrett, after spending too much time with any of the Seed brothers while Faith cackles loudly in the background: _oh no he's hot_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm... i think i'll put it here too, since i don't really describe what Garrett actually looks like in depth in most of my fics other than like, the color of his hair or eyes, but basically he looks like an exhausted [Sean O'Pry](https://78.media.tumblr.com/746f23274dfc3e6ca003c294f087ef86/tumblr_ozxrygi9bf1qajhjjo1_500.jpg)
> 
> originally i wasn't planning on bringing back the blond Peggie from chapter 3, but here he is with a name and a bit of an infatuation/hero worship(?) lmao

Garrett idly wonders why he’s here. Not why he’s been forcefully inducted into a cult, that part has been made painfully clear, but why Joseph has decided to visit each of his siblings, starting with John, and why he decided to bring Garrett along.

 _More than likely to keep an eye on me, make sure I don’t get any ideas of leaving,_ Garrett thinks as he looks out the window as the both of them sit in the back seat of a large jeep being driven by a Peggie. The calloused hand holding his gently squeezes his and he hates how his heart thuds loudly against his ribs because of it. As soon as the jeep had passed through the main compound’s gate Joseph had taken hold of his hand and hasn’t let go of it the entire time. Which means Garrett’s been looking out the window the whole time, unable to even look in Joseph’s general direction because he’s _embarrassed_ of all things and he hates how much he enjoys it, the attention being paid to him by a damn _cult leader,_ hates how much he likes the feel of calloused fingers rubbing circles on the back of his hand.

Basically Garrett is a bundle of self-loathing and confusion at the moment, with a whole lot of weird infatuation mixed in.

So he tells himself Joseph’s just holding his hand to deter him from trying to escape from the moving jeep – it wouldn’t be hard, it’s not speeding terribly and as long as he didn’t try to do it when the road curves he could tuck and roll out of there, Peaches and Boomer would more than likely follow him, but he’d have to leave his recurve and bag behind – and the lie makes him feel a little better. It won’t for too long, because he knows it’s a lie, but it will have to do for now.

“Is everything alright, my child? You’ve been very quiet.”

Garrett’s nose scrunches in distaste. That’s one thing that he definitely hates, Joseph’s habit of calling everyone his child.

“Don’t call me that,” Garrett tells him, has _been_ telling him but it has yet to take. He doesn’t have to look at Joseph to know that he’s looking at him with a slightly exasperated yet fond expression, as if Garrett’s being ridiculous for hating being referred to as that. (He hates it more than being called ‘Herald’ because at least when he’s called that there’s at least some respect for him as a person, misplaced as it is.) “And I’m fine. Just wondering why we’re going to see your brother.”

“To see how much progress has been made with the Reaping and to see the faithful of course.”

There’s something more to it, Garrett can hear it, the barely noticeable strain in Joseph’s voice, and that finally gets Garrett to actually look at the man. His face is unreadable, perfectly neutral so Garrett can’t see if there’s anything wrong, but he knows what he heard.

“And…?” Garrett prompts, though he doesn’t think it’s likely he’ll get an answer. Not right away anyway because while Garrett can be stubborn and wait most people out, he knows that Joseph is patient, almost unnaturally so.

“And there are things I must discuss with John,” Joseph says pointedly and Garrett drops the subject, goes back to looking out the window at the passing scenery and cult propaganda billboards. He can feel Joseph’s fingers interlacing with his own, but if it’s an apology for being intentionally vague or not, Garrett can’t tell. 

\---

When the ranch comes into view Garrett can feel the moment his face contorts in a grimace of disgust at the flagrant display of excess wealth.

It’s more a mansion than a ranch, with an attached hangar, but it’s done in that fake rustic style that rich people love and think looks authentic but to anyone else it looks like the tackiest damn thing. Garrett bets that the inside is going to be filled with taxidermied animals and other ugly looking pieces of furniture.

Ugh, it’ll be like walking right into one of those home renovation shows he and Mary May had been binge watching what feels like years ago but was really only about a month or so ago.

The sound of Joseph chuckling pulls Garrett from his internal trash talking monologue.

“I’m not fond of the extravagance either, but John _is_ trying to keep it to a minimum.”

“Anyone ever tell him that less is more? Or that maybe he shouldn’t have gone for the log cabin look on a house this huge? Because quite frankly, it looks ridiculous.”

“Perhaps you can give him a few pointers,” Joseph says with a soft smile and Garrett barely catches the teasing lilt in his voice and turns just as the jeep comes to a stop to open his door in an attempt to hide from those too knowing eyes.

There’s a crowd of Peggies gathered, looking at them with misplaced adoration and respect that makes Garrett incredibly uncomfortable, but he does his best not to let it show, musters up as much energy as he can to walk and pretend like he belongs there, like he isn’t itching to get away. The fact the Boomer and Peaches follow him closely probably help his image as a supposed Herald, paints him as the intimidating figure he doesn’t feel like.

The Peggie that drove them takes their bags and speaks quietly with Joseph for a moment before heading into the too large house and then out comes John to greet them – Joseph – and Garrett doesn’t pay much attention, just studies the layout of the place as much as he can. Until his eyes catch on a vaguely familiar face that seems eager to try and catch his attention. It’s the young Peggie he met at Rae Rae’s farm, that was the first to pitch in and help him bury them. Garrett waves him over and tries not to roll his eyes at the way the crowd parts so easily for the guy just because a _‘Herald’_ picked him out of the crowd.

“It’s good to see you again, sir,” the young Peggie says with a wide grin and genuinely looks happy to see him, not just awestruck. It’s nice, being somewhat treated like a normal person.

“Just call me Garrett,” he tells him, because honestly he really hates being called ‘sir’ and ‘Herald’ all the damn time. “I never caught your name.”

“I’m Peter,” Peter introduces himself, shakes Garrett’s hand when he offers it. “This is your first time seeing the ranch, right? I could show you around if you wanted.”

He’s a little surprised at the offer, kind of figured that he wouldn’t be trusted with that information, and can’t help but grin at the kid’s enthusiasm. Before he can answer though Garrett’s distracted by the hand that suddenly rests at his lower back. When he looks it’s Joseph and Peter immediately bows his head in deference, not able to fully look at Joseph.

“Making friends, I see? That’s good. And who are you, my child?” Joseph asks Peter with a smile, but there’s something odd about it, though Garrett can’t quite place what it is. It’s only when Peter answers that Garrett realizes that the smile does not reach Joseph’s eyes, and if he can see that through the yellow sunglasses then it must be serious.

“He was offering to show me around,” Garrett informs him and he can see a cold glint flash through Joseph’s eyes before directing his gaze onto Garrett.

“A good idea,” Joseph concedes. Then the hand that rests at Garrett’s lower back drags upward to rest at the back of his neck, squeezes lightly in what can only be called a possessive grip, and Garrett has to shove down the urge to shiver because there’s something vaguely obscene about it. “John and I have a few things to discuss.”

And then just as quickly as he appeared, Joseph pulls away and follows John into the ranch, and then Garrett follows Peter as the kid leads him over to the hangar as the crowd of Peggies reluctantly disperses.

\---

Peter apparently is a bit of a chatterbox when he’s not helping Garrett dig graves. Which is fine by him, since he lets the kid ramble on about anything and everything that comes to mind as he shows Garrett around the property. It’s nice, in a bittersweet kind of way; Peter reminds him a bit of Billy. At first he’d assumed it was because of the blond hair, but then he saw the animated way the kid speaks, just enthusiastic about everything in general and… Yeah, it makes him think of Billy and his heart aches because he misses his best friend so damn much.

It’s been six years but it still feels like it was only yesterday that Billy was excitedly planning on what sort of shenanigans they’d get into once Garrett got back from college. But that never ended up happening since Billy was found dead on the side of the road a week after that.

Which just makes the fact that this kid joined a cult even more heartbreaking. Now that he’s gotten a better look, Garrett can safely say that the kid is _barely_ twenty, if that, and that’s… Peter should be out doing dumb shit with his _friends,_ not getting himself involved in a Doomsday cult.

It makes Garrett wonder what must’ve happened in this kid’s life to make him think joining Eden’s Gate was a good idea. Because who looks at cult of fanatics who think stealing land and people and then living in a bunker for seven years is a good idea?

What could’ve possibly convinced Peter that Eden’s Gate was where he should be?

One of Joseph’s sermons probably, now that Garrett thinks about it.

The little tour of the ranch ends in the garden out back and Garrett’s honestly a little surprised to see it.

“Didn’t take John to be a flowers kind of guy,” Garrett comments as he steps further in. He recognizes a lot of them, though he doesn’t know the names.

“He’s not. Faith planted these,” Peter says, but remains at the edge of it where brick meets grass. “She kind of insisted and John has a hard time telling her no.”

Garrett doesn’t say anything, but nods. He can understand that, seeing as he has a hard time telling Mary May no as well. And now that he looks around, the garden does seem more Faith’s aesthetic than John’s, though he’s honestly surprised that there aren’t any Bliss flowers here. Which is good, because he likes it out here in the garden. Nicest thing about this place, really.

So without further ado, Garrett sprawls out on his back in the grass, careful not to land on any flowers, and lets Peaches and Boomer curl up on either side of him. There’s a moment of hesitation before he hears boots on grass and cracks an eye open to see Peter sit down next to him, almost nervously. Probably because of Peaches; a lot of the Peggies here have been casting wary glances her way, so it’s unsurprising that Peter would be wary too.

They sit in silence for the most part and Garrett doesn’t realize he’s dozed off until he hears someone approaching and the sound of Peter rushing to stand up. There’s a brief hushed conversation that he can’t quite hear and then there’s boots on grass again, but it’s not Peter. When he opens his eyes he’s greeted with the sight of Joseph with that oddly fond smile of his.

“I’m surprised that you’ve yet to wander off,” Joseph says as he takes a seat on the ground next to him, a lot closer than Peter had been, but this is Joseph and personal space doesn’t mean anything.

“I’m surprised you still have your shirt on.” The words leave his mouth before he even realizes what he said, how it sounds, but there’s a vaguely amused look on Joseph’s face.

“Give it time,” Joseph says and wow, was that a joke? That was definitely a joke.

“Didn’t know you were a comedian too,” Garrett murmurs, feeling the siren call of sleep descend on him when Joseph’s fingers begin to brush through his hair in a soothing motion.

“I’m a man of many talents.” There’s a glint of what Garrett assumes to be amusement in his eyes.

Huh, who knew Joseph Seed had a sense of humor?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> garrett's an Oblivious Gay who can almost never tell if someone is maybe, possibly flirting with him
> 
> there's more i'd like to have put in this chapter, but it's late/ridiculously early and i have yet to sleep and there's other stuff i have to do today, but hopefully i'll get another chapter of this posted soon because lemme tell y'all, there's a few scenes i'm really looking forward to writing that will happen in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Being at John’s ranch is… weird, to say the least.

All of the furniture looks expensive and it makes Garrett’s skin crawl (turns out he was right about the place being filled with taxidermied animals; he briefly wonders if it’s because John Seed wants to seem like less of a _‘city boy,’_ but then Garrett remembers he doesn’t care) because the place looks unlived in, too unnaturally immaculate.

After Joseph found him in the garden, Joseph and John spend a lot of time behind a closed door with a few of what Garrett assumes are higher ranking Peggies. He knows better than to expect them to allow him to listen in on what they’re planning, but Garrett has no idea what to do with himself in the meantime.

Garrett wants to go to Falls End, especially since they’re so close to it now (he could make the trip there and back easily), but he’d rather at least have _some_ idea about whatever it is they’re planning so he can move accordingly without drawing too much suspicion.

And it’d be too obvious if he tried listening at the door, so for now, Garrett wanders the house by himself; Boomer is curled up on the bed in the guest room given to Garrett and Peaches wandered off somewhere. She’s probably up on the kitchen counter even though she knows she’s not supposed to.

He wonders idly where the kid, Peter, has run off to, but the kid probably has work to do. Peter _is_ part of Eden’s Gate after all, and Garrett should probably be more on guard around him; Peter’s nice and seems to have taken a liking to him but Peter is still a cultist.

There isn’t much to find as he wanders through the large house. It’s mostly just spare rooms, the large open spaces downstairs and a library. Either John doesn’t spend a lot of time here, because the house is practically bare of any personal touches, or John knows better than to leave anything important here.

His luck changes when he comes across what he assumes is John’s home office and finds an answering machine, its light flashing to indicate it has messages.

 _Who the hell still uses an answering machine?_ Garrett wonders, but then remembers that this is Hope County, where almost everything is about twenty years behind everywhere else, so of course there would still be answering machines around.

Closing the door behind him, Garrett goes over to the phone, carefully picking up the phone first before hitting the button on the machine and listens.

The first few messages are just status reports on the various outposts, though they’re a few weeks out of date to be of any real use. One message is about the kennels being raided and the dogs either being sent north to Jacob or being put down. The last message starts and Garrett’s about ready to write this off as useless until he hears Joseph’s voice. His heart nearly stops because for a moment, he thinks he’s been caught red handed, but he notices the tone isn’t angry and listens more closely.

 _“After all the atonements, after all the confessions, and all that you have done for me and Eden’s Gate it’s not enough. Is it, John?”_ Joseph’s voice asks softly with more than a hint of concern. Curiosity piqued, Garrett continues to listen, wondering where this is going. _“Cast away your past. You need to open up your heart. You need to see that there is more love all around you. All the pain and suffering you spread will not help us in the long run. These actions will only feed the sin inside you. It will grow stronger. It will convince you to do wicked things. Those you scar too deeply, they will heal. They will become carriers of your sin. They will spread that sin to others. I’ve seen your death in a vision.”_

Huh. 

His brow furrows in thought; it’s pretty obvious to anyone who’s spent five seconds in close proximity with John Seed that the guy believes whole-heartedly in what Joseph preaches. Garrett doesn’t believe in _‘visions’_ or prophecies, so it makes him wonder how John reacted when he heard this.

Has he even heard this message yet? The light on the answering machine had been flashing, so Garrett guesses he hasn’t.

 _“You’re destined to be slayed by your own sin. It will come back around in a new form. It’s only a matter of when. I’ve seen you die young. I’ve seen you die old. The difference between the two outcomes is how much love you let into your heart. I pray that you hear these words before it is too late.”_ There’s a brief pause, an odd inflection when he continues that Garrett can’t quite figure out. _“I want to see you become an old man in the paradise we prepared for. I love you, brother. I love you.”_

There aren’t any messages after the one Joseph left, so Garrett replays it just to be sure he hasn’t missed anything that could be important. The only new information he gets that he missed the first time is that Joseph left this message a few days before he decided to visit his siblings. He wouldn’t be surprised if the lack of an answer or lack of a change in John is what prompted it. Joseph probably still wants to oversee the plans for the Reaping, but it’s not the only reason for drawing him out of the main compound.

So… Joseph wants to save his brother from himself?

From what Garrett has gathered from the message, it seems like John is letting his manic violence control him and how he treats others, although Garrett’s pretty sure it’ll be revenge or justice that kills John before slothfulness ever does.

Carefully, Garrett puts the phone back in its cradle and gives the office a quick look through, but doesn’t find much save for a map of Holland Valley and a spare radio. Without a second thought, Garrett takes both, and quietly sneaks out of the office and back to his assigned room, stashing his pilfered items in the bottom of his bag.

Good timing too, because there’s a loud commotion outside and what sounds like a plane.

\---

Boomer and Peaches join him at some point and follow him outside to see a small crowd gathered by the hangar, excited chatter blending together.

He sees a flash of yellow painted metal and there’s a lead weight in his gut.

Garrett knows who that plane belongs to.

“Ah, good. That’s the last plane that belonged to those sinners,” John says as he and Joseph approach, and Garrett is immediately pissed off by the smug tone of voice.

“I didn’t realize theft was acceptable,” Garrett grits out. He’s worried about what happened to the Rye family, because he knows just as well as anyone that there is no way that Nick Rye would let his plane be taken without a fight. “Thought that might fall under _‘Greed.’”_

Of course, he’s not really one to talk. He did just steal a map and a radio after all.

John narrows his eyes at him while Joseph watches the exchange with passive curiosity.

“It’s not _theft._ It’s acquiring _resources.”_

How the hell is a seaplane a _resource?_ John Seed does not need another plane, especially if their plan is to hide out in a bunker for almost a decade.

“Without permission. Still sounds a lot like stealing.”

John scoffs. “I beg to differ.”

“Then beg,” Garrett retorts and everything just stops. John looks stunned and at least mildly affronted while the Peggies watch with apprehension and Joseph… well, there’s an easy to miss twitch at the corner of his mouth, like he might’ve laughed but caught it in time.

It’s a tense standoff between them, the Peggies around them waiting anxiously (and eager in some cases) for one of them to start swinging, but eventually Joseph steps in.

“Come now, John. You said something about the new soil being used in the greenhouses?”

And just like that John goes from vaguely antagonistic to docile faster than Garrett can blink and the two of them head towards the dirt path that lead to the greenhouses by the river. Garrett doesn’t miss the wink Joseph sends him before turning his full attention to whatever it is that John is saying, a sudden flicker of warmth flaring up in Garrett’s chest but it’s gone before Garrett can think too seriously about it.

As the crowd disperses, returning to their tasks, a thought occurs to Garrett.

The room where they were planning in should be empty now. Which means Garrett might be able to get a good look at what is going on.

\---

The door isn’t even guarded; it’s left wide open and nothing is even put away.

It feels suspiciously easy, but Garrett doesn’t know if he’ll get another chance to do this, so he goes in anyway. Most of what he finds is logistics related, but then there’s something about Falls End and…

Oh no.

This is fucking bad and he needs to—needs to stop the cult or warn Mary May or—

“Garrett what are you doing in here?”

He jolts at the voice and whips around to see who it is and it’s only Peter, looking at him with confusion as he pets Peaches when she butts her head against his thigh.

(Huh, Peter must’ve gotten over his nervousness about Peaches. That was quick.)

“Jesus, Peter, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” Garrett tells him, but he’s not really upset. He gestures to what he’s found. “Does everybody but me know about this?”

Peter steps closer and takes a look at it before shaking his head. “I don’t think so, though most have been looking forward to something like this for a while now.”

Garrett scowls down at the map and…

And he comes up with a plan. It’s probably not that great and could probably use some work, but it’s better than nothing.

“Peter, there’s something I need your help with. Can I trust you to keep this to yourself?” Garrett asks, doesn’t miss how the kid’s face lights up. He knows he should be wary of Peter, about where his loyalty lies, but Garrett really could use his help.

(He’ll need all the help he can get, if he’s being honest. There’s only so much he can do by himself with only Boomer and Peaches on his side.)

“Of course, Herald.”

He snorts. “Seriously, just call me Garrett.”

“Of course, Herald,” Peter repeats, but there’s an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and Garrett rolls his eyes.

“Alright, smartass, you in or out?” Garrett asks but he’s smiling now too; he knows Billy would’ve liked this Peter kid too. He’s a little shit and they would’ve gotten along like a house on fire.

Peter nods and Garrett leads them out of the room and at least down the hall and around the corner before he lets him in on his half-baked but better than nothing plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> where am i going with this fic? i don't know and i don't remember but we're gonna get there anyway lmao
> 
> mary may will show up in the next chapter so get ready for the "what do you mean you're a herald now?" conversation that i've been waiting to do for forever now
> 
> y'all can find me [here](http://edmunderson.tumblr.com/) if you got questions or if you just wanna talk about far cry
> 
> (i'm also tempted to do a Twin Peaks AU but i have no fuckin clue how i'd go about it but god damn if it wouldn't be fun to write)


End file.
